International

Gypsies Resist Relocation in Spain

By Jerome Socolovsky

Published January 5, 2008 at 1:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 16 years ago.

Gypsies have been in Spain since the Middle Ages, adding richness to Spanish culture not the least of which includes Flamenco music and dance. Spain did not recognize Gypsies as citizens, however, until the 1970s.

The country is now spending millions on relocating many of them from shantytowns to government-subsidized housing. The effort has been met with resistance that at times erupts into violence.

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International

Jerome Socolovsky

Jerome Socolovsky is the Audio Storytelling Specialist for NPR Training. He has been a reporter and editor for more than two decades, mostly overseas. Socolovsky filed stories for NPR on bullfighting, bullet trains, the Madrid bombings and much more from Spain between 2002 and 2010. He has also been a foreign and international justice correspondent for The Associated Press, religion reporter for the Voice of America and editor-in-chief of Religion News Service. He won the Religion News Association's TV reporting award in 2013 and 2014 and an honorable mention from the Association of International Broadcasters in 2011. Socolovsky speaks five languages in addition to his native Spanish and English. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania, and graduate degrees from Hebrew University and the Harvard Kennedy School. He's also a sculler and a home DIY nut.